Games which incorporate striking an object, such as a ball, or stopping or catching an object, such as a ball, are well-known in the art. For example, tether-ball is a well-known and popular game. In this game a ball is attached to a string and the string is secured to an upright rigid immovable post. The object of this game is to hit the ball back and forth using paddles, bats, hands or any other conventional type of racket or other striking object. Several United States patents disclose games similar or identical to tether-ball including U.S. Pat. Nos. 786,997; 1,708,796; 3,809,406; 3,764,140; 3,729,195; 3,521,885 and 3,455,552.
It is also known in certain games to position a ball on the lower end of a lever. The ball is attached to a support by means of a string or rod. The top portion of the lever is forced down, thus moving the lower end up and propelling the ball into the air. The ball is then struck by a suitable object, such as a bat or paddle. The length of the string limits the ball's travel and also prevents the ball from being lost. Several patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,243,620 and 3,161,409, disclose this type of game device.
There are also games which consist of attempting to catch on a rod a ball having a plurality of apertures on the surface thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 609,390 discloses such a game. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,252,957 and 2,211,330 disclose similar games, wherein a rolling apertured ball is stopped by a spear or rod.
The prior art has either games which consist of striking a ball or games which stop or catch a ball, but does not disclose a game which employs both game features.